The Breathing Cathedral: Feeling Our Way Into a Living Cosmos [Paperback]

Martha Heyneman (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 25, 2001

A panoramic vision of cosmic spiritual ecology achieved through an unusual balance between practical observation, vigorous knowledge of literature and science, and inspired personal insight. The author relates her practice and understanding of the Gurdjieff teaching to international legacies of literature and science, and to the immediate sensory details of her own life.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Seeing in recently advanced cosmological theory the renewed possibility that our universe has a definable shape, Heyneman proposes--with persuasive elegance--that humanity may once again experience its world as home. Citing medieval cosmologies, such as that of Thomas Aquinas, who had his own "theory of everything," and referring frequently to the philosophical foundation and geography of Dante's Divine Comedy , journalist and poet Heyneman attributes the richness of Renaissance culture to a claim that its leading thinkers and artists felt "at home" in the world as they understood it. "Psyche and cosmological image mirror each other," she asserts, and connects the Big Bang and the theories of Einstein and Stephen Hawking to shapes and devices ("3-spheres," gyres, Hamlet's Mill, and an ever-turning spindle) that connect modern humanity with modern concepts of the universe. Personalized, poetic, intricate and closely tied to her admiration of the teaching of Gurdjieff, Heyneman rewards a close reading. Illustrations not seen by PW.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

Recently we have begun to question the role of science and scientists as the providers of our primary world view. The purely scientific description of our cosmos is no longer satisfying, yet we are not willing or able to return to the world views predominant before science took over. Heyneman, a poet and social commentator, explores Western views of the cosmos, from Dante's Divine Comedy to Stephen Hawking's Brief History of Time ( LJ 4/15/88). She then uses current ideas of environmentalism and feminism, as well as her own poetical interpretation, to create a new cosmology. What we get is a cosmology based on meaning and not a sterile description of observable fact. Heyneman achieves her goal of convincing us that there is more to the cosmos than our scientific view, but she is less successful in her attempt to open us to new ideas by reminiscing poetically about her own life. For collections of popular philosophy.
- Eric D. Albright, Galter Health Sciences Lib., Northwestern Univ., Chicago
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: iUniverse (February 25, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0595174248
• ISBN-13: 978-0595174249
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.1 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,176,399 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Combines ancient wisdom with unifying vision of cosmos, July 25, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: The Breathing Cathedral: Feeling Our Way into a Living Cosmos (Hardcover)

Heyneman's panoramic vision of a cosmic spiritual ecology is achieved through an unusual balance between practical observation, vigorous knowledge of literature and science and inspired personal insight. She leads her reader past explanation, through knowledge, to exceptional opportunities for understanding of our role in the cosmos. All of this hinges on her ability to relate her practice and understanding of spiritual tradition to our international legacies of literature and science. JWD

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Purgatory, January 11, 2007

By 

Bonvibre Prosim (Buffalo, New York United States) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: The Breathing Cathedral: Feeling Our Way Into a Living Cosmos (Paperback)

I knew this student of the Gurdjieff System as an inspiring poetess. This book exhibits a deep understanding of spiritual cosmology.